I’m planning on starting a team for my school, but I’m still confused as to what it actually is. From what I understand, it’s like track & field with different events. Do you have to do every event? and about how much do competitions cost? im clueless lol
- You don't have to do every event. Typically, students do 2-3.
- I have no idea how much competitions cost, but note that building events may cost a lot of money for materials. Check with your region for registration details, as they have the specifics.
It’s a science competition with 23 events in most science areas (geology, physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, and inquiry). Most of the events are tests, although the engineering events are building events and the inquiry/chemistry events can require labs or other more interactive activities. You can have 15 people on one team, and since you can bring partners (or even three people depending on the event), all of the spots can be covered if everyone does 2 or 3 events each.
Unlike the Science Olympiads (Bio Olympiad, Chem Olympiad, Physics Olympiad), SO is more team-oriented, and since students do 2-3 events, each event tests on a more specific area of the field. For example, Anatomy and Physiology covers only 3 systems each year, although you are expected to know almost about everything about those 3 systems.
Although the medals are individual, whether the team advances onto States/Nationals is dependent on the team’s overall performance. The competition structure is Regionals --> States --> Nationals, although I’m pretty sure Montana only does States.
When you register with your region and complete all of the paperwork/pay any fees, you will receive a spot on the Regional competition and a rules manual. The rules manual has everything that you need to know about each event: how many people can do it, what they should study, what they should bring, etc…
I recommend going to the Science Olympiad forum and asking for more information there.
Thanks! So is the team score calculated by each individual’s performance in particular events, and would it be a disadvantage of a team only had about 8 people?
Each team gets one entry in each event (it may be 2 or 3 kids working together). Points are awarded by ordinals. Team with best score in each event gets 1 point, second point gets 2 points, etc. Fewer combined points are better.
Team with 8 people would be at a disadvantage over teams with full compliment of kids because you would need to participate in more events and thus have less time for each event to prepare, practice, study, etc.
But if you are just starting a team, I wouldn’t really worry about that. Its not likely you will start a team and start winning competitions. It takes time to build up a program. But you can still have fun and learn a lot even if you do not win.
Also check to see if your state has any invitational tournaments. They are essentially practice events. They do not impact which teams go to the state competition.
You also do not need to compete in every event to compete at a tournament. You will be given the highest score for events where the team doesn’t participate. But you can still compete in other events. You may get a medal or ribbon for an individual event even though likely you would not do as well in team event.
In my state, the rule is slightly different
there are around 20 events total over 6 consecutive period. (so in theory, maximum number of events one can participate is 6). Each school can send only one group to each event, and the group can consist no more than 3 people.
For each event, first place get 10 points ,2nd get 8 point… Any placement after 20 get no point.
Points add together by the end of day, and schools with high scores win.
There were medals awarded to top 3 teams in each event.
With that being said, a 8-people team is very unlikely to participate in all events and will be in disadvantage. However, you’ll still have a high chance to win individual events.
This thread is super helpful, I’m trying to start a team too.
My school is all into Science Olympiad! I am not in it, but have peers who are. I know they do Rube Goldberg device to pen and paper college assessments, I also made a Rube Goldberg device back in middle school, and let me just say it is harder than it looks. Make sure your team has good dynamic and make sure everyone is informed of the rigorous disciplines involving biology, earth science, chemistry, physics and technology. Good Luck!
I am actually thinking about joining the one at my school. Thanks for all the info!
Here is a link the state sites for SO:
Sorry for necrobumping, I wasn’t sure if I should’ve started a new thread. When do you guys usually start practicing/studying for your events? Do you have to find your own resources, or does the membership cover that?
AND WHATS THIS ON THE FORM THAT ASKS FOR “LIABILITY INSURANCE??”
Yes! Scioly is love, scioly is life. Our team is in the process of tryouts, and we usually start having weekly meetings in October.
@carbonnanotube You should start practicing for your events AS SOON AS YOU HAVE THE FAINTEST IDEA OF WHAT IT IS. Even before the rules are out. For example: If you are doing Anatomy, once you know that the three systems for 2017 are Endocrine, Nervous, and Sense Organs, start reading about them, taking notes about them, memorizing facts, etc. If you are doing Wright Stuff, just start experimenting with plane designs regardless of requirements. If you are doing Microbe Mission, study off of the 2012 list if the 2017 list hasn’t come out yet, etc.
As for studying/building/lab resources, you or your team have to find those yourself.
For Study Events: Go online and dig up pdfs, webpages, and just read and memorize, also use quizlet, youtube, and more. Wikipedia (contradictory to common belief) is a great resource if you already know the vocabulary well and are able to understand Wikipedia’s articles. Books are also EXTREMELY important. Visit your school’s or your local library to see their textbooks (textbooks are very useful for Anatomy), guides, intro books, etc. If you are serious about Science Olympiad, replacing your regular reading books with Scioly-related books are also a good idea. Once you are familiar with study event material, go on www.scioly.org to the Test Exchange section and take all the available practice tests, and check your answers afterwards to boost the learning.
For Building Events: Research about the dynamics, engineering, physics, and (if they are out) requirements for the build. Look for every material that could possibly used for your build around your house, and ask your coaches where to find them. Start sketching out prototypes and build different designs to see which one works better. If there is a study portion, make sure not to miss out on it.
For Lab/Inquiry Events: PRACTICE is vital. You should spend a great amount of time simply practicing.
If you have any more questions, my username is Raven on www.scioly.org, you can private message me on there (or on college confidential). I am also on the www.scioly.org IRC chat usually from 8:00-9:30 pm Eastern Time under the username Raven.
Please note that I also have a lot of experience in Science Olympiad. I am in B division (the middle school division) and have medaled at the national level several times.
@carbonnanotube Also, if you have any further questions about Science Olympiad, go on www.scioly.org, create an account, and ask the questions on the General Chat (which is in the Forums), many experienced Science Olympiad members are constantly on and are able to answer your questions faster than people on College Confidential (since CC is mostly people thinking about college).